HOUSTON -

Firefighters are continuing to put out hot spots Wednesday morning after a 5-alarm fire burned down a residential building under construction in the Montrose area.

Houston firefighters responded to the blaze at around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 2400 block of West Dallas and Marconi. A large portion of the high-rise structure was on fire.

Flames and smoke could be seen from miles away.

Several fire units and emergency crews were on the scene, including nearly 200 emergency personnel. HFD called for a fifth alarm shortly before 1:30 p.m.

Captain Ruy Lozano told Local 2 one construction worker had to be rescued from the third floor of the structure.

There were no reported injuries, according to the fire department.

Lozano said firefighters worked to contain the blaze, before the imminent collapse because the fire suppression systems were not yet in place for the under-construction building.

Traffic in the area near downtown Houston was congested during the blaze and authorities urged motorists to stay away from the area as a safety precaution.

Police have closed the intersection of Montrose Boulevard at Dallas Street while emergency crews are still on scene Wednesday morning.

Original post:
Massive blaze destroys residential building under ...

Trapped on a balcony by smoke and flames, construction supervisor Curtis Reissig knew he had to take action to stay ahead of the blaze that was quickly consuming the Houston apartment complex he had helped build.

"The flames were getting closer and hotter. I knew I had to do something. So I swung down to the lower floor," he said.

Reissig's daring leap bought him enough time to let a fire truck ladder get close enough for him to then jump onto it. Fire Capt. Brad Hawthorne, who was perched near the end of the ladder, helped bring Reissig to safety. The dramatic escape was all captured on video.

Reissig, 56, suffered minor burns to his face and hand in Tuesday's fire, which destroyed the planned $50 million luxury apartment complex. There were no other reported injuries.

The cause of the fire was still unknown Wednesday, but witnesses said it might have been caused by workers who were welding on the roof.

Reissig, who works for JLB Partners, had been eating lunch at a trailer on the construction site around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when someone reported a fire. He grabbed an extinguisher and went up to the roof, where he put out some of the flames. But strong winds quickly spread the fire across the roof, so Reissig made his way to the fifth floor.

"At that point I saw a lot of smoke. ... It started burning my eyes, my throat. I couldn't breathe," he said.

Reissig found a window but couldn't open it. He said he thought he was going to die. But then he saw a door to one of the building's units and went onto its balcony.

"I thought, 'Ah, fresh air.' And then I look up and I see to my right all the flames on the building were that close. It was just amazing it had gone up that fast," he said.

Meanwhile, Karen Jones, who works in a nearby building, had come back to her fourth-floor office after picking up lunch when she found co-workers gathered at a window, watching the blaze. Jones, who captured Reissig's dramatic rescue on cellphone video, said when she and her co-workers saw Reissig come onto the balcony, they started to worry.

See more here:
Houston Construction Worker Describes Daring Escape From ...

Photo By Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle

Houston firefighters continued to douse hot spots Wednesday morning, the day after a five-alarm inferno consumed an apartment complex under construction near downtown.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

From the Magnolia Cemetery of Houston firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Go here to see the original:
Fire official speculates on cause of Montrose blaze

Photo By Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle

Houston firefighters continued to douse hot spots Wednesday morning, the day after a five-alarm inferno consumed an apartment complex under construction near downtown.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

From the Magnolia Cemetery of Houston firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

See the rest here:
Spotlight on Houston apartment fire shifts to construction worker's daring escape

Photo By Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle

Houston firefighters continued to douse hot spots Wednesday morning, the day after a five-alarm inferno consumed an apartment complex under construction near downtown.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

From the Magnolia Cemetery of Houston firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Read more from the original source:
Fire officials speculate on cause of Montrose blaze

Photo By Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle

Houston firefighters continued to douse hot spots Wednesday morning, the day after a five-alarm inferno consumed an apartment complex under construction near downtown.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

From the Magnolia Cemetery of Houston firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

See the original post:
5-alarm fire burns 368 unit apartment complex near downtown

A construction worker who was rescued from a burning apartment building in Houston said today he was so close to the flames that he could feel his skin burning.

Curtis Reissig told ABC News' Houston-owned station KTRK-TV that he raced through the smoke-filled building on Tuesday looking for a way out.

"It's burning my eyes, my throat. I can't breathe and I can't hardly see anything," Reissig said. "I could see a window. I went to that window. Trying to open that window in a panic. I couldn't get the thing open. Smoke was getting heavier, just trying to get some air."

"At that point, I said, 'I'm going to die right here.'" he told KTRK. " I said, 'God, you have to help me. You got to help me out here.'"

Reissig managed to jump down from a fifth story balcony to a ledge below. The dramatic moment firefighters pulled him to safety was captured on video.

Miraculously, everyone was accounted for at the construction site and no injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Original post:
Construction Worker Rescued From Houston Fire Felt His Skin Burning

Video of a building under construction that caught fire in Houston on Tuesday was uploaded to Youtube today. The most stunning part: a construction worker who narrowly escaped the flames.

Karen Jones, who recorded the footage from a nearby building, feared for the mans life.

When we saw his foot slip, Jones said, we thought he was going to be gone.

In the footage, a construction worker stands on an unfinished fifth floor balcony. At one point, the flames become so intense that he is forced to leap to the fourth floor balcony below.

As firefighters inch closer, the construction worker jumps from the balcony to the firefighters ladder, much to the relief of Jones and other onlookers.

As the ladder begins to retract, part of the fifth floor wall collapses and nearly lands on both men.

Fortunately, the fire was brought under control with no reports of injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Sources: The Huffington Post, The Times Picayne

See the original post here:
Construction Worker Rescued From Massive Fire In Houston Apartment Building (Video)

Photo By Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle

Houston Fire Dept. Capt. Jake Sandlin, left, Engine Operator Dwayne Wyble , center, and Senior Capt. Brad Hawthorne, Right, eat at Goode Company, 5109 Kirby Dr., where they paid for their meals despite the restaurant offering free BBQ sandwiches all day to HFD members Wednesday, March 26, 2014 in Houston. Wyble was operating the ladder that Capt. Hawthorne was on when he was captured on video rescuing a worker who was trapped by yesterday's apartment fire. Speaking about grabbing the man who jumped from a balcony onto the ladder, Capt. Hawthrone said, "just another day at the office." (Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle)

Photo By Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle

Houston Fire Dept. Senior Capt. Brad Hawthorne eats at Goode Company, 5109 Kirby Dr., where he paid for his meal despite the restaurant offering free BBQ sandwiches all day to HFD members Wednesday, March 26, 2014 in Houston. Capt. Hawthorne was captured on video rescuing a worker who was trapped by yesterday's apartment fire. Speaking about grabbing the man who jumped from a balcony onto the ladder, he said, "just another day at the office."(Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle)

Photo By Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle

Houston Fire Department members have lunch Wednesday at Goode Company on Kirby. The restaurant is offering free barbecue sandwiches all day to Houston firefighters.

Photo By Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle

Houston firefighters continued to douse hot spots Wednesday morning, the day after a five-alarm inferno consumed an apartment complex under construction near downtown.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

From the Magnolia Cemetery of Houston firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

The rest is here:
Houston finding ways to offer thanks for HFD battling monster blaze

A construction worker forced by flames onto the ledge of a Houston apartment building was rescued just as he prepared to jump to safety.

Video posted to YouTube shows one construction worker on a fourth-floor balcony, with fierce flames showing inside the building. As he was waiting for a ladder truck to come to his aid, the worker dropped down, swinging onto a balcony below.

He was eventually rescued by the ladder, just as the top-story wall fell behind him in flames.

The video, uploaded by user Karen Jones, claims to have been shot from a building on the AIG campus near the scene of the fire.

Houston Fire Department spokesman Captain Ruy Lozano told the Houston Chronicle the only people inside were construction workers, all of whom were accounted for. No injuries were reported.

Fire officials said more than 200 emergency personnel had responded to the fire at the large apartment complex under construction.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Much of the high-rise structure was reduced to rubble by wind-driven flames.

Here is the original post:
Worker rescued from flames